Gate-latch.



LORENA M. LAWRENCE, OF LINTNER, ILLINOIS.

GATE-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 191i.

Application filed September 6, 1910. Serial No. 580,599.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, LORENA M. LAWRENCE, citizen of the United States, residing at Lintner, in the county of Piatt and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Gate-Latches, of which the following is a specification.

. The object of this invention is a simple construction of latch for farm or other gates, the parts being few in number and being capable of being cheaply manufactured and easily applied without the necessity of special tools or more than the ordinary skill, the latch being also capable of easy operation and holding the gate securely in closed position.

'Vith these and other objects in view that will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions and arrangements of the parts that I shall hereinaft-er fully describe and then point ,out the novel features of, in the appended claim.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a gate having the improved latch mechanism applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the latch and its support, disclosed partly in section; and, Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the latch and the support.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates a gate which may be of any desired type, construction or design, and which may be secured or hinged to the hingepost 2 by any desired construction or type of hinges.

3 designates the latch post arranged at the relatively free end of the gate, and 4 designates a cleat or strip which is secured to the latch post so as to prevent the gate l from swinging clear through.

The latch support of my invention is preferably a single piece of metal and includes a preferably scr-ew threaded stem 5'by which the latch support may be easily screwed into one side of the post 3 so asl to project perpendicularly therefrom. The support also includes an upwardly extending arm 6 which in the present instance projects at right angles to the stem 5. This arm comprises a square or otherwise non-circular lower portion 7 and a reduced and preferably rounded portion 8 which terminates at its upper extremity in a head 9, of relatively larger diameteror lateral extent than the squared portion 7.

The latch proper 10 embodies a head 11 formed with a square or otherwise non-circular opening extending therethrough and by which it is mounted to fit upon the lower portion 7 of the arm 6 and to turn upon the upper portion 8 of said arm. The head 9 of the arm serves to prevent the separation of the latch from its support and is in the form of a nut screwing on the upper threaded end 8 of the arm, whereby the latch and arm may be easily' assembled and retained in proper relation to each other. The latch 10 includes, in addition to the head 11, a finger portion l2, as clearly illustrated in the drawing.

From the foregoing description in connection with the accompanying drawing, the application and operation of my improved gate latch will be apparent. In the practical use of the device, after thecleat or strip 4 has been secured to the latch post 3, or some other equivalent means provided to prevent the gate from swinging clear through, the stem 5 is screwed into the latch post with the arm 6 projecting upwardly and in spaced relation to the post. In order to hold the gat-e closed, the latch is secured as against turning, by being slipped down into engagement with the square lower end of the arm 6, the linger 12 extending in front of the relatively free end of the gate, whereupon, as is evident, the gate will be securely held between said finger and the cleat 4f and maintained in closed position. In order to open the gate, it is only necessary to slip the latch upwardly, whereby to permit the latch to turn around on the reduced upper portion 8 of the arm 6, and the latch is then preferably slipped down again upon the square lower portion of the arm with the finger l2 projecting perpendicularly from the post 3 so that the gate may be closed again whenever desired without interference by the latch.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A device of the character described, comprising a latch support, including an attaehing stem and an arm extending at right angles to said stem, the arin being provided with a non-circular lower' portion and a rounded upper portion, and a latch including a finger and a head from which the tinger projects, the head being formed with a non-circularv opening adapted to Ht upon the lower end of the arm and to turn upon the upper end of the arm, bothlthe attaching stein and the rounded portion of the arin being formed with screw threads, and a LORENA M. LAWRENCE.

l/Vitnesses CHARLES TAYLOR, ARB TAYLOR.

Copies of this patent may 'be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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